UEFA Nations League

[ScottishInterista]

So the pots for the Uefa Nations League has been announced below. This is a mini tournament which is designed to replace meaningless friendlies and stop teams like switzerland boosting their coefficient. Each league has created based on these teams rankings not including the last international games (WC Qualifying). Each league will have 4 groups of either three or four and the winner of each of those groups will head into a four team tournament. If the winner has already qualified for euro 2020 then the second place team from that group will take their place. Each league will have one team that then goes to Euro 2020. The bottom four and top four teams from each group will be relegated to the lower or promoted to the higher league respectively.

LEAGUE A
Group 1: Germany, France, Netherlands
Group 2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland
Group 3: Portugal, Italy, Poland
Group 4: Spain, England, Croatia

Four group winners play-off for the UEFA Nations League trophy in June 2019
Four sides that finish bottom of groups relegated to League B for 2020 edition
Top four-ranked League A teams that do not qualify for UEFA EURO 2020 enter play-offs in March 2020, with one EURO finals place on offer

LEAGUE B
Group 1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic
Group 2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey
Group 3: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland
Group 4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark

LEAGUE C
Group 1: Scotland, Albania, Israel
Group 2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia
Group 3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus
Group 4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania

LEAGUE D
Group 1: Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra
Group 2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino
Group 3: Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo
Group 4: FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar

http://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/index.html#/iv/article/2522564

Spoiler: Matchdays

Matchday 1: 6–8 September 2018
Matchday 2: 9–11 September 2018
Matchday 3: 11–13 October 2018
Matchday 4: 14–16 October 2018
Matchday 5: 15–17 November 2018
Matchday 6: 18–20 November 2018
Finals draw: early December 2018
Finals: 5–9 June 2019
UEFA EURO 2020 play-off draw: 22 November 2019
UEFA EURO 2020 play-offs: 26–31 March 2020

 

[Sassuolu]

So wait Malta has a chance to go to Euros?

 

[ADRossi]

Oh look, another tournament for Italy to suck in

 

[Black Knight]

So wait Malta has a chance to go to Euros?

We always did, my friend.

 

[ScottishInterista]

Oh look, another tournament for Italy to suck in

Tbh it gives the teams in league A a very high chance of making the euros considering that most of the teams will qualify through usual means for euro 2020.

Our FA definitely had something to do with this, we were one of the ones fighting to expand the euros and WC but we fucked that up and went this way instead. We are easily one of the strongest teams in our league alongside Serbia and Greece but I think we could beat both

 

[Ronin]

We always did, my friend.

Hope Kosovo and Malta will be in the same group. Finally a chance for us to get an easy win.

 

[ElDiego22]

I still have no idea what the UEFA Nations league is blivious:

 

[ScottishInterista]

I still have no idea what the UEFA Nations league is blivious:

Sells important games to channels, replaces meaningless friendlies (for the most part, groups with 3 teams in it have an extra slot for friendlies), gets different teams into the euros while not necessarily harming the big teams

 

[Ed.]

Does this mean European teams can't have a friendly with countries from other regions?

 

[ScottishInterista]

Does this mean European teams can't have a friendly with countries from other regions?

There will be some friendlies. Some groups will only have 3 teams in the group so will have more friendlies

 

[ADRossi]

From my understanding, the three goals of this competition are (in order):

1) Make more money by having "worthwhile" fixtures instead of useless friendlies
2) Stop teams such as Switzerland and Poland from gaming the (terrible) system
3) Try and get teams to value these matches more so we're not seeing games where each team makes ten substitutes.

But there is slightly more to it than that, as the world rankings are weighted to ensure that qualifiers have more significance than friendlies.

From the end of Euro 2016 to the completion of World Cup qualifying, Poland only played one friendly, at home to Slovenia.

In contrast, England played five friendlies.

Due to weighting system, even if Gareth Southgate’s men had beaten Germany twice, Spain, France and Brazil, they still would have ended up with less ranking points than if they hadn’t played the friendlies in the first place.

The FA are reportedly aware of this but still decided that the experience the players gained from friendlies against the world’s top sides would prove more valuable than a superior world ranking.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/5025554/world-cup-draw-poland-england-spain/

 

[Wings]

For ranking purposes will these be considered competitive matches instead of friendlies?

 

[ScottishInterista]

As I understand it yes

 

[Dylan]

Tbh it gives the teams in league A a very high chance of making the euros considering that most of the teams will qualify through usual means for euro 2020.

What usual means? In League A for example say Germany, France and Poland all top their groups. Say Germany wins that 4 (who will be the 4th team?) team tournament, how do the rest of the big teams from A qualify?

 

[Ed.]

What usual means? In League A for example say Germany, France and Poland all top their groups. Say Germany wins that 4 (who will be the 4th team?) team tournament, how do the rest of the big teams from A qualify?

There is still the Euro qualifier. This Nations League is to add 4 teams that do not qualify through the Euro qualifier.

 

[ScottishInterista]

Yeah the games will all be played by the end of 2018, the mini tournament is just before the tournament

 

[Cómi]

From my understanding, the three goals of this competition are (in order):
3) Try and get teams to value these matches more so we're not seeing games where each team makes ten substitutes.

I think this is a big negative for the system, national managers won't take as many chances on young players and youth development at the national level will suffer.

 

[Sassuolu]

Hope Kosovo and Malta will be in the same group. Finally a chance for us to get an easy win.

We'll see mother fucker.

Of course I'm Brazilian so I don't know why I'm involved.

 

[ADRossi]

By 2026 we're going to eliminate major tournament qualification, and the competitions will just be single round knock out matches for all 200 countries

 

[ScottishInterista]

By 2026 we're going to eliminate major tournament qualification, and the competitions will just be single round knock out matches for all 200 countries

We'd still get put with a top 10 team